In Memoriam: Suprnova, the king of BitTorrent sites, killed by fear of an MPAA bust despite the fact that they were based in Slovenia. Head instead to thepiratebay.org or torrentspy.com.
Well, this is a nice surprise. I woke up before my alarm on Monday (by a half-hour), thus enabling me to start on this column early (and more importantly, make some coffee before I had to go to work; usually I don’t have enough time to do so). Since I’m not doing live cows this week (and not getting the easy 45 minutes of overtime for doing so), I had a lot of time. Started the Pimp Section, put in the Anti-Spyware section, and did one news item. Damn sweet, actually.
I do have to comment on Time’s Moron of the Year, though. This was expected. Every four years, it’s the winner of the presidential election that wins MOTY. So I have to give points to the people at Time for being consistent. That’s all I have to say on that issue*.
* – That was a nice little lie, wasn’t it? In the interest of full disclosure, I worked for Time-Life for six months when I was in college, so therefore there might be a bias. Unlike some wrestling sites out there, I admit this stuff.
I’m also early enough to do a follow-up to one of last Wednesday’s stories. Despite the TRO issued by a US judge, the largest independent Russian oil company, Yukos, was auctioned on Sunday. The winner? From CSNNews:
…an obscure Russian firm called the Baikal Finance Group acquired a 76.79 percent stake in Yuganskneftegaz, Yukos’ main production unit, for $9.3 billion.
Baikal Finance has 14 business days to pay in full. Virtually nothing is known about the company except that it is registered in Tver, a small town some 100 kilometers north of Moscow. As such, it is widely suspected that it is acting as a front for another interest.
So who are they fronting for? We’ll probably find out very soon. I love covering Russian corruption. It’s like I was back in Chicago again.
And didn’t I tell you about Google Desktop Search a few months ago? Rice University researchers have found major security flaws in it. Well, no shit. The potential for them have been talked about ad nauseam since it was released. Maybe next time you’ll listen to me.
…it’s better to talk about this stuff than to talk about Dustin Rhodes and Erik Watts, the two Crown Princes of Nepotism, in back-to-back matches on Impact last week, you know…
And on with the show…
THE PIMP SECTION
Lucard has another selection of creepy stuff for us.
Go vote in the Inside Pulse Games 2004 Year End Awards Nominees competition, now.
Misha has some selections for last-minute shopping.
Fernandez closes out the Jukebox in fine style, and saves me for last on the Mega-Jukebox list. He’s a Chicagoan. He understands.
Stein has the latest indy results, as usual.
Hevia thanks the McMahons for some reason.
No problem, Porter. Everyone hates Rupert Murdoch.
Urciuolo always amazes me by getting two columns in every weekend. I have to take a break in between mine, but, hell, I’m officially old now.
Aulbrook has his year-end “I Hate You” recap up.
And one more thing: when Enterprise comes back next month, start watching. It’s actually very good now. Plus, they’re going to explain the Klingon Forehead Problem.
THE ANTI-SPYWARE SECTION
Remember, this all started because the slugs at Enigma Software dared to advertise their piece of shit SpyHunter at 411 (one of the reasons why I decided to leave, honestly). So I’m responding every single column with proper anti-spyware information. And guess what? People are actually taking this to heart. They’re asking me for help if they’re infested, or they’re writing me telling me that their browsing experience is less annoying thanks to the stuff I’ve been putting up here three times a week for a few months now.
(And as I understand it, there are some unscrupulous browser toolbar people trying to advertise here at the Pulse. Well, don’t click on that ad, whatever you do. We’ll still get the money from the impressions, and your system will stay safe.)
Big, big Kudos to the guys at the Spyware Warrior Forum for pointing out to everyone the extent of criminal activity participated in by Enigma Software, makers of the bane of advertising on that site, SpyHunter. Slimeballs extraordinare, aren’t they? And in case you need more info about what flaming bags of shit they are, try here. Suzi’s Blog has a great list of other flaming bags of shit that promote anti-spyware programs that are spyware themselves. Consult it if you have questions.
(On a side note, those SpyHunter ads started over at Reality News Online, and BFM, a contributor there, spotted them. He told the webmaster, gave him those links that I cited above, the webmaster read them, the blood drained out of his face, and he contacted his ad provider. No more ads for Enigma products on RNO, thank you. So guess what? If you provide the info, there are sites who will listen.)
One of the leading vectors for spyware is so-called free programs that contain this shit in order to “pay the bills”. No one deserves that kind of treatment. If you’ve got a question about whether or not a certain program contains spyware, head over here. It’s a nice alphabetized list of programs that do contain spyware and should be avoided at all costs.
Here’s a list of the programs you really need to help you get rid of menaces, and, more importantly, prevent them from occurring in the first place:
Spybot and AdAware. The ONLY two spyware removal tools to trust. Do NOT buy any spyware removal tools, because none of them work better than these two, and all of them except these two are suspect.
SpywareBlaster. Will nuke thousands of different potentially malicious ActiveX controls, and now has the ability to prevent a number of non-ActiveX methods of installing spyware for people who use Mozilla/Firefox.
SpywareGuard. From Javacool, like SpywareBlaster. It’s a real-time scanner for spyware. A decent first line of defense.
IE-SpyAd. Throws numerous ad-related URLs into IE’s Restricted Zone, where they won’t display or affect your system. Bookmark this one, since it’s the only one that doesn’t have an in-program update.
A few people have recommended also installing the Sun Java Virtual Machine, since it’s Windows’ buggy, half-assed implementation of the JVM that allows a lot of spyware to install (less so within the past month and a half than before). I STRONGLY recommend that you visit here and update your version of Java.
So many people have asked about a free anti-virus program that I’m also going to recommend AVG. Totally free, and works really, really well, as well as commercial anti-virus programs. Frequent database updates, good heuristic detection, everything you want in an anti-virus package.
Another program that I’d like to add here is a little tough to work with for noobs if it goes buggy (you need to know a little something about your Networking settings in order to debug if something should go wrong). Protowall is a supplement to your firewall or NAT system. It hooks directly into XP’s networking system to block any and all traffic that comes from URLs on a list maintained by the program (all protocols, not just TCP/UDP). It’s mainly designed for anti-P2P purposes (which will appeal to a great many of my readers), but it contains lists to block spyware and ads. Its blocklist can easily be updated using its supplementary program, Blocklist Manager. I have Protowall running and a Blocklist Manager icon on my desktop, and I use Blocklist Manager to update the blocklist every couple of days. You will have problems getting to some sites unless you shut down Protowall temporarily, like ESPN or Sports Illustrated, but it does have a tray icon you can right-click and shut down in a few seconds. It’s the third layer of anti-ad material for me, with IE-SpyAd and AdSubtract running alongside it. Warning, though: it only works with XP. I’d recommend its predecessor, Peer Guardian, for other MS OSes, but it isn’t being developed anymore, and there were still bugs in it when development stopped. You can get Protowall and the Blocklist Manager (which will also work with Peer Guardian) at Bluetack’s site.
Of course, only download them from the links provided above. And only download those programs; don’t fall for the ads that are shown at various websites.
With AdAware and Spybot, check for updates using their internal update function at least once a week. Run them at least once a week or whenever you think you might have problems. Remember, the new version of Spybot has browser protection capabilities, so have that run at startup and leave it running. Check for updates to SpywareBlaster once a week. It only needs to be run once initially in order to establish protection. Then, after it downloads updates, just click on the line that says “Enable Protection For All Unprotected Items” and kill it. It doesn’t need to be active. For IE-SpyAd, bookmark the site and check for updates twice a week, since it has no kind of internal updater. Since all it does is add Registry entries, it doesn’t eat up anything. Run the Blocklist Manager every couple of days to make sure that you keep up on the latest banned URLs.
If you’re having trouble with spyware or a browser hijacker, or think that you do, head over to the SpywareInfo Forums, where the pros there can help you diagnose and get rid of stuff. I was promoted to Full Helper status there and ended up joining ASAP, the Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals. Look for their symbol.
The Ravin’ Cajun asks me to recommend a good client-side spam filter for MS mail programs running under Windows. Now, this is something I don’t have experience with because my ISPs have always had good spam filtering, plus, I use Thunderbird, which handles the remainder quite nicely, thank you. Some readers wrote in and recommended SpamBayes, which is totally free and supposedly works very well, so I’ll add it on to the anti-annoyance list that we’re building up here.
Now that 1.0 has been released, I feel good in recommending Firefox as an alternative to IE. Go grab a copy and see what you’re missing.
WWE GOES EXTREME
According to Big Johnson at 1bullshit Junior, WWE wants to do a barbed-wire steel cage match at No Way Out. The wrestlers involved are a well-kept secret at this point, although Da Meltz is saying it’s High-Quality Speaker Boy/TBS. I say, pick any ECW guy now on Smackdown for your favorite in this competition (the Dudleys versus Rey-Rey and Toke-Toke, perhaps?). The big surprise, though, is this: No Way Out will take place in Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania Athletic Commission has specifically barred the use of barbed wire in wrestling matches since 2002 thanks to the excesses of CZW. So what’s going on here?
This becomes an issue of how much stroke Vince has to bear on the Athletic Commission. Do they follow the rules, or can Vince strong-arm them into some exception for that night? It’d be a big surprise if he can pull it off, frankly. Pennsylvania has a pretty strict Athletic Commission. They don’t bow to pressure (especially post-ECW). Can Vince deliver on his promise?
It might be the only thing that makes No Way Out interesting. It’s always been the red-headed stepchild of the PPV season, sandwiched in between Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. The only time it’s gained interest is when WWE has hot-shotted the World strap in order to build “mystery” for Wrestlemania. The big drawback, of course, is that it’s a Smackdown PPV. Who are they going to hot-shot the belt to? If High-Quality Speaker Boy survives Royal Rumble (and an apparent match against The Big Show, in which case, if it happens, the barbed-wire cage match will be one of those wonderful rematches that we all love so much), then the construction of the match becomes interesting. The problem with that is that they’ve shot that wad with every possible permutation featuring High-Quality Speaker Boy that I can think of. Maybe he’ll be involved in the barbed wire steel cage match. If it comes off, that is.
GUESS THERE’S NO POT IN IRAQ
Also according to Big Johnson, Rob Van Dam is in
major trouble with Stamford due to his refusal to go on the Iraq trip. Now, this trip was supposedly voluntary. However, the real secret came out quickly, supposedly in a discussion between Johnny Ace and Luther Reigns. Luther didn’t want to make the trip either; apparently he can survive prison, having his throat cut, etc., but was reluctant to be in a war zone. What Johnny told Luther was that, yes, the trip was voluntary, but Vince had told the upper echelon that he wanted everyone there and it would be in their best interests to go. Reigns changed his mind damn quick after hearing that. Of course, Van Dam told Johnny that he didn’t want to go, Johnny probably relayed the same information to him, and Van Dam told him to f*ck off.
So what happens now? Will the heat die down? Probably not. Van Dam was the only no-show. You’ll know the heat is still on if the tag titles are dropped within the next few weeks, either to Nouvelle Sushi or the returning Dudleys. Right now, you just have to say that if there’s smoke, there’s not only fire, there’s Van Dam as well.
And since WWE has decided to close out the year with a Best of Raw Special, I see no need to change anything in this column just because we’re about to dump all our 2004 calendars. But I will change format a little…
THE BEST OF RAW 2004 SHORT FORM
The Monday Night Football parody sketch: Definitely one of the funniest moments on Raw this year, and worthy of opening the show.
Chris Jericho versus Christian, Wrestlemania: Not a bad match, but definitely not memorable per se, especially with the other moments in that particular card. The apres-match, with Trish’s turn, was far more important than the action. Seems like a “camera time” moment. They had to have something with Jericho and Christian on there, and since neither had very memorable years in the ring, this was the choice.
The Retard Retrospective: Witness the complete degradation and the destruction of the once-promising career of Nick Dinsmore, and take pity on him. Remember, this holiday season, there are people worse off than you. Nick Dinsmore is one of them. So am I, for that matter.
Death to all retards.
Shelton Benjamin versus Trip, Round One, from March: At the time, the entire IWC was thrown into confusion. This was the most inexplicable behavior from Trip since he sold for Taka Michinoku. What was he getting out of it? Turns out, nothing, except he was able to give a rare rub to someone deserving. We also couldn’t believe that Benjamin was being thrown into the upper-midcard this soon. After all, before the draft, he was Charlie Haas’ partner and/or Kurt Angle’s acolyte, nothing more (unless you watched him in OVW). We didn’t expect a singles push that quickly. Nine months later, even with Benjy holding the IC strap, we’re still trying to get our heads around it. One thing’s clear, though: Shelton Benjamin was one of the more pleasant surprises of 2004. World strap by 2006? Maybe…
The Kane-Lita wedding angle, culminating in Kane versus Gene Snitsky, Taboo Tuesday: Probably the most dominant angle presented on Raw this year, and probably the most asinine (except for anything involving the Diva Search people). Gene Snitsky’s rise up the ladder was faster and even more inexplicable than Shelton Benjamin’s. What was even faster and more inexplicable was the audience’s acceptance of him as a proper fulcrum for turning Kane face. I will never understand how they pulled that one off. Either “creative” is smarter than I think they are or the audience is dumber than I think they are. And considering how dumb I think the audience is, there isn’t much wiggle room there.
Our Lord and Savior versus The Person Who Professes His Name versus the Anti-Christ, Wrestlemania: For most of the year, this match was MotY (and anyone who still claims it is hasn’t seen the cage match from Turning Point, pure and simple). Well-booked, well-executed (you can’t expect anything less from Benoit, Michaels, and Trip), mostly stayed away from the cliched Triple Threat booking. And it wears well. It just got nipped out at the end for the most prestigious honor of the year, that’s all. Still great, and it was nice to see it again. Hell, it’s always nice to see Benoit win a world title. Let’s hope for more of that at New Years’ Revolution.
The Diva Search: My ignorance of this little nightmare as it was going on was quite prescient. Has Christy Hemme brought anything to Raw whatsoever? All in all, it was a waste of the audience’s time. Well, you can say that of most Raw episodes this year too, so I guess it fit in. Maybe she can f*ck Daniel Puder in the middle of the ring just to show all of the WWE stockholders how Vince and Linda are committing fiscal malfesance.
Trish Stratus versus Lita, from December: Two women trying to pretend they’re cruiserweights. Who cares?
Team Orton versus Team Trip, Survivor Series: It was great as long as Trip and Benoit were in. None of the other combinations worked. Orton is maturing week by week, but he’s still green, and this match exposed that fact more than any other he’s been in the past three months. The stip also didn’t pay off except in one regard: the multiple Benoit/Edge ties that created the vacant title. Now we just have to wait and see how they’re going to develop Trip/Orton for WM, and whether or not the strap will be involved (please, don’t let it be).
And that’ll be it for this one. Hopefully I can knock something out for tomorrow, but don’t be surprised if you don’t see anything. I’ve got a very tight schedule this week, so my time’s at a premium. Until I see you next time, enjoy it, whatever it is.
